Interesting lense

[Jochum]

The new Olympus Zuiko ED 9-18mm:
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/olympus_9-18_4-5p6_o20/

Gets good review, just wonder little how many shots around in portraitmode you must take minimum to get good stitch in PTGui etc? 6 or 8 or 10 except nadir and zenit? Or do you have to take several rows?

[allSaints]

Hi Jochum,

The 35mm equivalent focal length of this lens is 18-36mm, and the portrait angle of view is only 62°, so it will take quite a few images to cover 360°x180°.

With a 50% overlap I don't even want to count. But I'm sure it's still a very nice wide angle lens... :)


Tommy

[Jochum]

Hi! I am not good on maths but with 25% overlap it could be like 8 pictures I guess, and in that way makes quite big high-res panoramas.
I'm not even sure what overlap I use today, 8mm Sigma fisheye on a Canon 350 and six pictures around and one up if I remember to do so but that I guess yield more overlap than 25%, but less than 50%, somewhere there around. Guess this lense would make a big improvement to my old setup. However I don't want to try out myself, I rather wait for someone else to do. :D

[siesfor]

course it's also a 4/3rds mount lens, so unless you're planning on picking up an Olympus/Panasonic body with it, it won't do your Canon much good. But when it comes to lenses, you can't go wrong w/ the Olympus Zuiko line, not many to choose from, but very hard to go wrong with any of them. The 8mm Zuiko fisheye (16mm equiv.) is plenty for getting 6 around, so I can't imagine the 9mm (angle of view at 9 is 100º, rather than 62º) wouldn't be enough to cover it in 6, too.

[Jochum]

Of course I pondered to replace my old 350D at same time, Olympus and of course other brands make interesting cameras today so there are some choices out there. I have had Olympus and Pentax before my Canon so I can change, I'm not that Canon fanboy though I'm very satisfied with it.
We speek about portrait mode, standing camera, then its 62° covering. ;)

[uudu]

I am also Olympus user and searching the lens. Based on info of this page - http://www.fourthirdsinfo.com/2008/05/zuiko-digital-ed-9-18mm-14-56.html
- Angle of view is 100 degrees diagonal, 88 degrees horizontal and 72 degrees vertical. - it seems, one raw plus up and down isn't enough.

[Jochum]

Ah, okey one raw doesn't seem to be enough then, too bad, nice lense otherwise.

[siesfor]

Hey Jochum, you said this lens would be an improvement over the SigmaFE, do you notice problems w/ the Sigma? I see the lens mentioned alot for pano photography and seen some really good panos taken with it, so I always assumed that it was one of the better lenses for pano work.

[Jochum]

No I have no problems with it but I have also seen sharper panoramas out there, and when my camera and lense gets older and everything develops I guess it must come better things, though I have really no clue if the limitation of my setup lies on the lense or my 8 MP 350D, I guess a 15 MP camera would make some improvement but maybe my old Sigma fisheye cannot keep up all way, that I don't know. And if I gonna buy a new camera soon it is quite fun to look at the competition and dream a little, frankly I doesn't afford both a new camera and a new lense but it is fun to dream. :)

BTW My Sigma is a few years old, it has come out a new version of it a couple of years ago, though I have no clue what improvements the newer has. But bottomline is I can recommend it though I have at same time no idea if it is anyone better out there, surely it must but this has a also a decent pricetag.

[Jochum]

Pondering a little, I see Canons fisheye gets good review though its same price as the Sigma, wonder which is best?
I see also Sigma has three different fisheyes to for an example Canon, all cost roughly the same, whats the difference and which is best?
Like on a 450D/500D. And for panoramas of course. :)